The 99th Annual Hunger Games: Walls of Water
by Tuckerkyles
Summary: This is a first-person POV story through the eyes of Torin Carlysle, a District 7 inhabitant and 'Scavenger'. His fate turns when he is drawn into the 99th Annual Hunger Games (Who knew?)!
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'The Hunger Games' or any of the characters affiliated with it.**

** This is my first work. I will make some mistakes! Reviews would be helpful and would allow me to improve my works. So, please read & review! Thank you!**

**PROLOGUE**

Ever since I can remember, I've lived with my grandfather in District 7. He has been my parent. He has taken care of me. My parents weren't drunks or anything, no, they were victims. This is what my grandfather has told me:

My father, Jay Carlysle (named after the mockingjays), was the guy that everyone in the District looked up to, young or old. He had black hair, green eyes, and was very athletic. He was nice and loved to help people. Every girl would have loved to be with him, but he had his eyes on one girl. Rose Luella.

Rose, my mother, had brown hair and amazing blue eyes. She was short and skinny, but she could fight. She knew how to use a bow and knew her way around the human body. The weaknesses, pressure points, and anything there is needed to know. She knew this from helping her parents, the town doctors, treat people.

They met in school but never talked until one day, my mother was attacked by a wolf-mutt. She was out in the wooded area where we chop trees for lumber. It was about noon when it happened. My father had heard a scream and ran towards it, armed with only just a knife. Where there's one, there's more. The two fought three wolf-mutts and escaped, with minimal damage. She had thanked him and they became great friends.

A few months later, they started dating. A few months after that, I was conceived. They were 16. The Capitol didn't seem to like this. The following year, a mere month after I was born, both of their names, Jay Carlysle and Rose Luella, were drawn in the reaping for the Hunger Games. Coincidence? Not a chance. My grandfather protected me and watched helplessly as they fought for their lives in an arctic wasteland for an arena.

They survived the bloodbath and proved a very strong team. But, after about a week in, there were only 6 tributes remaining. Two careers made an ambush, killing Jay and wounding Rose. Rose survived for 3 more days before dying from Insanity due to the loss of a loved one, frostbite, and dehydration. There were 2 tributes left.

My grandfather took me in after the horrible deaths of my parents happened on national tv. He has raised me up until he fell ill and died last year. Sara, my best friend and neighbor, offered to live with me. This built our relationship and I eventually had the courage to ask her out.

Sara is the nicest and funniest girl that I have ever met. She is never serious, unless she needs to be. She's skinny, tall, blonde, and has the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen. They are bright teal. And I mean BRIGHT. Sara and I have known each other since we were both ten. She is the youngest in her family of 6 and is also the only girl. Her mother passed away from disease when Sara was 9.

After my grandfather passed away, Sara offered to live with me. Together, we have hunted, gathered, and traded our way out of hunger. We've tried to avoid putting our names in for tesserae. I've only had to do it once.

My name is Torin Carlysle. I am 17 years old. This is my story.


	2. The Beginning

'Klink! Klink! Klink! Klink!' This sound can be heard right underneath me. I'm currently perched in a tall pine tree, watching. "How are you doing down there?" I ask the lumbermen below.

"Good!" One of them shouts back. "Just a few more hits!" His words are being drowned out by each swing he takes at the tree, which is right by mine. After those few more hits, the splintering noise of the base separating from the rest of the tree echoes through the forest. "TIIIIIMMMBEEERR!" Another lumberman shouts. I turn towards the tree as it slowly falls. Sounds of cracking and fragile bark can be heard. I quickly grab ahold of the trunk of the tree that I'm sitting in. When the tree makes contact with the ground, the area starts shaking. I can feel it. I look down and see a dust cloud forming as the tree settles. The tree must've been enormous for it to kick up that much dirt.

"Everyone alright down there?" I call out. I hear several replies from everyone. After a couple of minutes, the dirt and dust have settled. I sling my bow over my shoulder and slowly climb down, branch by branch. Once I reach the bottom, I pat myself off and look around. 2...4...6... 7. 7? Where's the 8th? 4 lumbermen, Sara, Grifyn, and Alexi. Who are we missing? Oh! Me! I laugh quietly to myself. Everyone's here. "That was a good-sized tree!" I say, looking at the lumbermen.

"Yeah, but we're gonna have trouble hauling it back to town, even with a truck," one of them says.

"Maybe you should cut it into two halves," Alexi steps forward, "It only makes sense."

Alexi, the youngest of our group, who's only 13, uses a spear. She is not only the youngest, but probably the smartest, as well. She has long, red hair and is very small. Her eyes are a bright green. Due to the fact that she's so small, she can climb trees faster than any of us and the way she uses the spear would make you think it was a part of her body. She can twirl, dodge, and dive her way out of many situations. Not to mention she's also very persuasive when she wants something. And I mean it. She uses every trick she has up her sleeve to achieve her goal.

"That's a great idea!" Sara steps forward and pats Alexi's head in encouragement. The five lumbermen all look at each other.

"Or... We could all carry it back!" Alexi says, stabbing the tip of her spear into the ground. She smiles slyly.

"No, no! Chopping it is fine!" One of the lumbermen says.

"That's what I thought." Alexi smiles, pulling her spear back out of the ground and then looks back up at Sara. Sara kneels beside her and whispers something in her ear. Alexi claps, excitedly and giggles.

The lumbermen begin chopping away at the fallen tree. I walk over to Sara. She stands up and smiles. "Hey," she says.

"Hey," I grin back and get close so Sara and I can talk quietly. "What'd you say to Alexi?"

"Oh, nothing... Just that I'd pay her in a small treat later."

"What kind of treat?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"I told her that in thanks for being so helpful, I'd buy her a piece of candy. I- Is that alright?" She asks me, hesitantly.  
I think about how much money Sara and I have. I think we can spare enough for a piece of candy. Although, they are kind of expensive. "Yeah. That's fine." I smile.

Sara nods and we look over to the lumbermen who have just finished chopping the tree in half.

"Good, now into the truck!" Alexi demands, playfully. The lumbermen sigh and carry the two tree halves into the back of the truck.

I smile at the image of a thirteen-year-old girl ordering around older men. Wow. Although the scavengers are treated as equally as lumbermen, scavengers always seem to be smarter. It's quite odd, actually. Especially because most of us are under the age of twenty.

"Sara, do you have that water bottle with you?" I ask her.

She nods and turns around, so I can open the black bag that's on her back. I unzip it and search through the items that she has stashed in there. Some bandages, a few apples, matches, and the water bottle. I take out the water bottle and drink a small sip, only enough to quench my thirst. We need to preserve the water, because that's all we're getting for a little while. Sara takes the bottle from my hand and takes a small sip as well. "Hey, Alexi! Do you want some water, too?" Sara asks. Alexi nods and bounces her way over to Sara and takes a drink. "How about you, Grifyn?"

"Nah, I got my own." Grifyn, our scavenging leader, replies, raising his bottle in the air to show it off. Sara sticks out her tongue at him in rebuttal. He replies with a simple laugh.

Grifyn, with his towering and built physique, wields a battle axe. He swings his axe with ease and is very skilled with it. If he needs to, sometimes he throws it into his attacker, not only injuring or killing them, but launching them a few feet backwards as well. He has brown, short hair and his eyes are gray, like bits of clay. He has a few scars on his face and arms, showing his years as a scavenger. He's about the age of 34, being the oldest in our scavenging group. He's lighthearted and laid back, a lot like I am.

"It's almost evening. One more tree." Reave states, letting us know that we're almost done. Reave is the leader of the lumbermen and also quite demanding. He's an odd person, being small but very muscular. His gruff voice reminds me of a peacekeeper Drill Sergeant. Not that I've ever heard one before.

We all sigh and walk over to the tree I was just perched in. Two of the four lumbermen take sides of the tree and smack at it, alternating. Sara, Alexi, Grifyn, and I all assume our positions, with each person facing a different direction. After a few hits to the trunk, there's a small humming noise. All of us pause.

"What's tha-" A lumberman is cut off by the noise of Grifyn shushing him.

"Ah, screw this," Reave says, taking one more swing at the tree trunk. A small cracking noise can be heard as what looks like a massive rock falls from a high branch. It smacks the ground, releasing a massive cloud of loud and gigantic insects.

"TRACKERJACKERS!" Grifyn calls out, warning us all to step away. But, it's too late for Reave. He's already being enveloped in trackerjackers, screaming for his life. Grifyn rushes to pick up Alexi, carrying her away to the truck and setting her inside.

Sara and I are running to the truck as I get an idea. Smoke! I stop at the truck and tear off a part of my shirt. Then, I wrap it around the tip of an arrow that I have already nocked onto my bow. "SARA! MATCHES!" She looks at me for a quick second before she realizes what I'm doing. I rush to the gas cap of the truck and unscrew it. As I cram the cloth-wrapped arrowhead into the gas can, Sara grabs a match and starts lighting it.

"Here!" She shouts at me. I hold the gasoline-doused arrow up for her and she lights it. Perfect. I draw back the string of the bow and release it, sending the flaming arrow flying towards the smashed nest.

The nest goes up in flames, releasing pillars of smoke. "Sara! Grifyn! In the truck!" I command, sprinting towards the passenger door. Sara's waiting for me, with the door open. I toss my bow in the back and remove my quiver, then hop in and she sits on my lap, closing the door behind her. Grifyn is in the driver's seat, with Alexi sitting on the floor in between the passenger and driver's seats. The 3 remaining lumbermen are already in the back seat... Figures. They always run at the first sign of danger.

I can see a plume of smoke rising from where the nest was on the ground. Trackerjackers just start dropping as the fire burns on, releasing more and more dark-gray smoke. We remain in the truck, all looking at each other. Alexi calls from the floor in between the seats, "What happened?"

"Torin had the idea to incapacitate the trackerjackers with smoke," Sara says. She then kisses me on the cheek. I can feel my face blush a bright red. "He was smart!" I smile at her, in an overwrought manner.

"I wish I could've saved Reave," I state, looking down at the floor.

"That asshole had it coming to him," Grifyn says, bluntly. "We should report this to the Peacekeepers." Grifyn starts the truck and we drive off, leaving the smoke, body of Reave, and trackerjackers to lie. On the way to the lumberyard, no one speaks a word.

We arrive, and are immediately greeted by two peacekeepers guarding the gate. "Halt," one of them says. The other walks around the truck and examines the load. I think he signals to the peacekeeper at the car door, because he immediately starts questioning Grifyn. "Why do you not have the required amount of trees for the day?" Peacekeeper #1 asks.

"Because we ran into some trouble." Grifyn seems already pissed at the peacekeeper, because he's speaking through his gritted teeth.

"Oh, yeah? What kind of problem?" The peacekeeper seems skeptical. It's hard to tell, because he has a helmet covering his face, I can hear it in his voice. I motion for my bow. The lumbermen have it lying on their laps, but they start handing it over when Sara stops them and shakes her head at me.

"We lost a lumberman due to some trackerjackers." Grifyn's voice is filled with anger.

"Is that so? Isn't it the scavengers' jobs to protect them? Why have you guys failed?"

"The lumberman practically killed himself!" I add. Sara quickly covers my mouth with her hand and shushes me.  
"Killed himself?" The peacekeeper doesn't believe us.

I remove Sara's hand and reply, "I said 'practically'." Why doesn't go see for himself?! This is getting on my nerves as well. I look down to see Alexi covering her ears in fear. She's not afraid of bears, or bobcats, or mutts, but she's definitely afraid of peacekeepers. We all are. But, living in 7 means we're the second most poor District in all of Panem. Usually, we have nice, relaxed peacekeepers, but this guy seems like an asshole.

Peacekeeper #2 puts his hand on Peacekeeper #1's shoulder. "Relax." Huh. Turns out Peacekeeper #2 is actually a woman. "They're only doing their job."

Peacekeeper #1 turns around and looks into #2's helmet. "Fine," he replies. "Move along." Grifyn starts to drive away when he reaches his arm out and flips off #1. #2 just laughs.

"'Bout fuckin' time," Grifyn scoffs. We pull into the parking area and are greeted by a group of lumbermen who help us out of the truck. And, of course, one tries to court Sara. She simply plays along and then gives me a deep, long kiss in front of him. The look on his face is priceless.

"Alright, Scavengers, you are dismissed. We will send a group of Peacekeepers to clean up the trackerjacker area. You three, you stay with us and help unload," a lumberman says.

I sling my quiver and bow over my back and start walking. Sara puts on her bag and catches up, followed by Alexi and Grifyn. Sara and I interlock fingers and she turns her head to look behind us. She turns back around, leans into me and whispers, "That sleazy lumberman was looking again. I just winked at him and looked away." I let out a small laugh then give her a kiss.  
I look towards Alexi, who has grabbed Grifyn's hand. They're both laughing. "What?" I'm startled by their laughter.  
"Oh, nothing," Grifyn replies.

This is followed by a "Smoochie-smooch!" and the puckering of the lips from Alexi. I laugh and run up to her, picking up the preteen and carrying her over my shoulder. "Put me down, Torin! Down! I'll hit you with my spear!"

"Bring it!" I reply in a humorous manner. Alexi flails her arms around, trying to smack my back with the butt of her spear. I laugh then flip her onto the ground where she simply cartwheels and then lands, brushing herself off.

Grifyn just smiles and looks forward down the road. "You guys ready for tomorrow? Prepared?" He asks us. All of us look at each other, very confused. Tomorrow... What could be tomorrow? Surely, it's not another Scavenging Physical. Those are awful. They evaluate the physical strength of us scavengers by putting us through rigorous tests. Hunting, weight training, climbing, and even races and obstacle courses to test how fast we are.

"...Is it another Physical?" I ask, completely worried.

"No, the reaping. For the Hunger Games."

"Fuck... I knew something's been bothering me all week," Sara says, with a hand slightly covering her mouth.  
"Yeah. I hope you all get a good night's sleep tonight," Grifyn says, clearly hurt by the idea of the Games. "Well, Alexi, here's your house. Have a good evening." She smiles solemnly and then gives each of us a quick hug, before heading into her house.

"Shall I walk you two home?" Grifyn asks us. "It's almost dark."

Sara and I look at each other and she nods. "Sure! We would love an escort!" She says, taking his arm in her hands. I smile and we begin the half-hour walk to the home of Sara and I.

We arrive and Sara and I say our goodnights to Grifyn and enter our dark, warm house. Sara lights a candle and we eat the small amount of bread that was leftover from breakfast earlier.

After we finish, Sara heads up to bed and I put away our scavenging equipment— her knives, the bag, and my bow and arrows.

I blow out the candle and head up to bed, crawling in right beside Sara. "Tomorrow I have to give Alexi that piece of candy I owe her, don't let me forget that," Sara says, sleepily. I smile and kiss her on the forehead before pulling her into my arms and slowly drifting off to sleep.

**I didn't really like how I ended it. It felt rushed, but I wanted to end it on a calm note. Also, I wasn't sure how to explain more about life in District 7. One other thing I noticed, was the fact that I started to trail on about parts like the "Peacekeeper" section and the last bit. Anyway, tell me what you think!**


	3. The Reaping

The warmth of the sun beats down upon my face, awaking me to the conscious world. The tweets of birds and chirps of crickets signal the middle of summer, which also means the Hunger Games are about to begin.

I open my eyes and see the beautiful face of Sara. Her eyes are closed, still in a calm and peaceful state. She must be dreaming something good, because she has a smile on her face. I laugh quietly to myself at the sight. It's too perfect. Too bad, though, that it will have to end.

I roll over and look at the wall clock that Sara and I have hung over the window. 10 o'clock AM. The Reapings are in three hours. That gives me enough time to cook some breakfast for us.

I slide the blanket off of my body, carefully as to not awake Sara. But, I use my portion of the blanket to wrap Sara up in a cocoon of soft, cotton blankets. I tiptoe down the stairs in a quiet manner, avoiding the steps that I know are creaky. Avoiding all of them, I do a quiet dance to show my accomplishment. Awesome! Now, for the food. I think we have a few eggs left in the fridge. I open the door, crossing my fingers. Three eggs left. That's a meal for the both of us! I quickly snatch the three eggs and a frying pan. Slowly, carefully setting the eggs down on a placemat. I grip the sides of the metal pan and very slowly lower the pan onto the stove.

The pan makes a quiet clanging noise as it makes contact with the stove. I cringe and grab the box of matches from the bag we took to scavenge. I left the bag on the table, but the problem is opening the bag without making large amounts of noise. Once I have retrieved the matches, I open the gas line and strike the match against the box. It lights and I put it into the hole on the stove. The fire springs to life instantly.

I take a step back and wait a few seconds for the fire to shrink. Once it has reached the desired size, I take the three eggs and crack them skillfully into the frying pan. Sara likes her eggs fried— no yolk, which is exactly how I like them as well!

I take the salt and pepper shakers and add some of each to the eggs. They start sizzling as I hear Sara's footsteps coming down the staircase. Shit! I hang my head in defeat as she creeps up behind me and gives me a hug. "Good morning," She says, her voice sounding very exhausted.

"Good morning," I reply, trying to sound sad. She caught me cooking breakfast, so I feel obligated to act depressed.

"You cooking breakfast?"

"Well, I was, until you found out." I shut off the stove, playfully. The eggs were done cooking, but I just wanted to make it look like I gave up. I turn around and frown intentionally.

She giggles as a reply and then brushes my blonde bangs out of my eyes. Her equally blonde hair is all tangled on the side she was sleeping on. "You suck," she laughs and kisses me on the forehead. Sitting down at the table, she waits for me to give out the food.

I turn around and smile before cutting the eggs in half with a small knife and then dumping the halves onto two plates. Then, I slide one plate over to Sara and then set the other one down on the spot in front of her. Lastly, I put the pan down in the sink and rinse it before sitting down to enjoy the eggs. "Almost forgot forks!" I laugh and grab two, handing one to Sara.

We enjoy our meal together, preparing ourselves for what's still to come. It's such a nice morning, I almost forgot. Both of us finish up at the same time and spend fifteen-ish minutes cleaning up.

"Should I wear my pink or blue dress?" She asks me for my opinion. I know she knows that I'm not good with clothes, so I close my eyes for a moment and then say, "Pink sounds nice."

"Pink it is!" I follow her upstairs to our bedroom and we grab our clothes and head to the bathroom. We have to take showers together to save what little hot water we have. Of course, since we are a couple, it doesn't bother us that we have to share, but it would be nice to have enough hot water to take a private one sometime. I mean, it's not like I haven't seen her naked before (in or out of the shower), but again, it'd be great to have a lot of hot water.

Sara and I undress and step into the shower together. We wash and bathe before stepping out. It was about time, too, because the water started becoming cold. We dry off and start putting on our clothes, admiring ourselves in the mirror.

I look at my self— my dark blonde hair, my skinny, but athletic build— and wonder. What if I didn't have this scar over my left eye? What if I could see out of it? I shake the thought away. Sara still loves me, even with the scar. Besides, in the past year since it happened, it sort of became apart of who I am. But, if it didn't happen, I would have two beautiful blue eyes. Instead, I have one blue and one gray.

As I stare at the mirror, I remember the day. It was Just another hot day, chopping wood. Sara, Grifyn, Alexi and I were standing around, waiting for the lumbermen to finish chopping a tree down. One of the trees we were assigned to chop down that day was in front of a cave. We all found it odd, but we didn't argue. That just meant that we needed be extra alert and on guard.

"Almost done with this tree," Reave said, as he was stopped to take a breath.

"Good, hurry up," Grifyn replied, using the blade of his battleaxe to fan himself. Reave huffed and then continued chopping. The tree fell and landed on the ground.

"Alright, that should be good for a bit. Which tree is next?" Sara asked.

"Let's see 'ere," Reave pulls out our map and looks at it, "Well, according to this map, we have to cut down the tree in sector 3."

Everyone collectively sighed. It was pretty far away. We started moving the tree into the back of the truck when we all heard a low growling noise. Then, a wolf jumped out of the cave and pounced at Sara, who was right next to the cave entrance.

"Sara! Watch out!" I yelled at her. She dropped the tree and pulled out a knife, twirled it and released it all in one fluid motion. The knife flew into the wolf's throat, injuring it. Two other wolves jumped out and I shot one with an arrow. Alexi ran up to the other, smacking it's face with the tip of her spear. The wolf shook it's head and pounced at Alexi, but Grifyn jumped in the way and knocked it aside with his axe.

We all cheered as we saw the remainder of the wolves scattering. That is, until I turned around. A wolf had stalked it's way around and pounced onto me, tackling me to the ground. I put my arms up in front of my face, but it bit them and clawed at my face. I reached for my bow and used it to stop the wolf from getting to me, but then it was almost as if it simply grabbed my bow and moved it aside. Grifyn tried getting it off of me, but it had it's hind claws dug into my legs. It reached it's arm back and took one big swing at my left eye. The next thing I knew, I woke up at the lumberyard with everyone standing around me, 10 days later.

I shake the memory from my head. Awful. I look back over at Sara, who's already dressed in her dress, while I stand here, still in just pants. "Are you ok, Torin?" Sara looks at me, brushing her golden-blonde hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get ready so fast?"

"Magic." She winks and spins, as o

if to taunt me. Then, she helps me put on my dress-shirt and tie. I'm in all black with a red tie. "You look handsome," she says and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Too bad it's for the wrong reason," I say, kissing her on the lips.

"Well, come on. We're going to be late." We walk downstairs when we hear a knock on the door. "They're here." I stop at the door, with my hand on the handle. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turn the door handle. I open it and see Alexi in a green, sparkling dress. "Good morning Alexi!" Sara peers over my shoulder.

"Morning!" Alexi curtsies. Sara and I step outside.

"Where's Grifyn?" I ask.

"He's at home still," she says, smiling, "We should go and get him!"

I nod and we begin our walk to Grifyn's house. It's about 20 minutes before we reach it. Alexi knocks on the door, doing her signature 'three-then-two' knock. I'm not sure why it's her signature knock— or why she even has one, but she's only 13, so, it doesn't bother us.

Grifyn steps out in a bright orange suit and tie. "Wow," Sara says in awe of all the orange. "You look dashing, fine sir!" She says in the closest Capitol accent she can do.

Grifyn closes the door behind him. "Shall we be off?" Grifyn takes Alexi's hand and I take Sara's. We begin the agonizing walk to the justice building.

We arrive at the Reaping just in time. Mayor Thorne has just finished giving his speech. Alexi, Sara, and I confront the peacekeeper whom is guarding the entrance to the area. The three of us get our fingers pricked and Sara and I say our "See-ya-laters" to Alexi.

Sara and I walk to the crowds of people standing around the stage in the centre of District 7. I give Sara a light kiss and then we part ways.

I stand in my age group of 17, with the boys. Sara's with the 17-year-olds group. I look up a the decoratively-themed stage. It's nice, really. The stage was a tree that overgrew until it was absolutely massive— must've been a Capitol experiment— and it was cut until only the 7-foot tall stump was left. It's decorated with moss and flowers, just for looks.

I stare mindlessly forward as the "Treaty of Treason" is read. It's finished in what feels like an hour, although I know it wasn't. My mind seems to wander off during times of no action or anything interesting. It happens a lot when we're scavenging, too. My attention snaps back to the front when the Mayor reintroduces Widget Miles, the escort of District 7. He's got medium-length, green, sparkly hair which is kind spiked up on the front of his head. His coat is a darker shade of sparkly green, while his pants and undershirt are white. But, he has a nice baby-blue tie around his neck.

Widget steps forward, his arms raise in greeting. "Hello, all! Welcome to the 99th Annual Hunger Games!" he yells, happily. He has a nice, funny, and bubbly attitude, which is kind of depressing. He's happy while we are all waiting to be sent to our deaths. "Haha! How is everyone!" A cough can be heard in the adults' section. Pretty much the equivalent of a cricket in an awkward situation. Yep, that's our escort. Loads of awkward situations.

"You're all probably wondering why you're here!" He says, in his thick Capitol 'alpha-male' accent. No one replies. "I'm only kidding! You all know!" I know he tries to cheer us up, but he always comes off as an asshole. "Shall we get this thing started?! How about the ladies first!" He walks over to the giant, green-tinted glass bowl, and sticks his olive-pigmented hand into the bowl and swirls his hand around. It's extremely suspenseful, because he stirs his hand around for a long time. I look over at Sara, who's got her hands up to her mouth, silently praying she doesn't get picked.

He pulls his arm out with the slip of paper in hand, and tears it open. Raising it to his lips, he reads it aloud. "Amber Skalai!" He exclaims, cheerfully reading it as the girl walks slowly and miserably up to accept what could soon be her inevitable death.

"Amber, Amber, Amber! How old are you?" Widget asks the poor, shaking girl.

"F- Fifteen," she says with an obvious tremble in her voice.

"Fifteen!" Widget exclaims before asking for everyone to put their hands together for her. No one does. No one usually does.

Widget sways his body towards the bowl that contains the boys' names.

My heart stops as he tears open the tiny slip of paper. It feels as if time slows down. I look over at Sara, who has her hands clasped together and is resting them on her chest, her eyes glued to our escort.

"Axton Untherwood!" I can see that Sara and I let out a collective sigh. The boy must also be seventeen, because everyone in my group is looking around. Where is he? "Axton Untherwood! Axton! Where are you?" Widget calls out in a creepy Capitol accent. A peacekeeper walks on stage and whispers something into Widget's ear. "Oh my," we can all hear him say. The poor kid must've died of something. "Well, we shall go on as normal and draw a different name!" He waddles back to the bowl and sticks his hand in, stirring the slips around.

I'm not as nervous as I was the first time. Why should I be? My name's only in there 7 times. I have a girlfriend, I'm a great scavenger, I'm blind in my left eye, so I'm technically disabled, and some other guy got picked but he wasn't there. There's absolutely no reason that I should be picked. I mean, I'm a good contribution to this district, so I shouldn't be worried, right? "Torin Carlysle!" I'm wrong. So, very wrong.

I look over and see Sara with her hand over her mouth and a single tear streaming down her face. She's shaking her head slightly. I can tell that she's trying to find out if this is real or not. As am I. This nightmare that I've had over and over is becoming reality. I can't move. "Torin Carlysle?" Widget's looking for me. Someone next to me shoves me and I tumble into the walkway. What a dick. The peacekeepers realize that I'm the male tribute of District 7 this year.

They walk over to me and grab my arms as I am escorted up. "I can walk myself," I say, breaking free of their hold. One of the peacekeepers hits my back with the butt of his gun. "Move forward!" He says, in a very harsh-tone of voice. I glare at him and keep walking.

I eventually reach the stage. Widget grabs my hand and pulls me up. "Come on up," he says. I stand beside Amber. Widget shoves the microphone into my face and asks me what my age is. "Seventeen." I smile awkwardly.

"Seventeen!" He smiles and shakes my hand. He lets go and turns back towards the audience. "Here we have it, folks! Your tributes for the 99th Annual Hunger Games!" he motions to us and Amber and I shake hands. Once we have been recognized, peacekeepers push us into the justice building and into separate rooms. This is the beginning of my end.


	4. The Goodbyes

My "farewell room" looks very luxurious. It's chrome-colored; the walls and all. It has a chrome couch in the center where I can rest. I decide to lie down on the couch and close my eyes to try and sort this out. But, I awake some minutes later, to Alexi shaking me gently. "Torin! Torin, wake up!"

I sit up and look her in her green eyes. "Hi, Alexi." She's a strong girl and hasn't been crying. Otherwise, there would be tear-stains on her face.

"Torin, I'm going to miss you," she says in a monotonous manner.

"I'm going to miss you too, Alexi," I say, putting a hand on her head and messing her hair up a bit. She giggles quietly and pushes my hand away.

"Torin, what's the one thing you told me before I went scavenging on my own for initiation?" she asks me.

"Don't be afraid."

"And that's what I have to say to you." She frowns and gives me a hug. I give her a kiss on her cheek. Her face turns red and she waves to me, a tear dropping down her face before walking out. The door closes behind her and I smile, grimly. Although her visit was short, it was heartfelt. She left early because she was about to cry. She doesn't like people seeing her cry.

I wait only a short moment before Grifyn walks in. "Hey, Tee. So, I heard you were picked to go on a big camping trip with twenty-three other people." his voice is a little shaken, but not much. I laugh quietly in response and try to think of a response. But, his bright-orange suit is kind of distracting.

"Yeah, but all I have is the clothes they give me. And all of the other campers are trying to kill me. Not to mention that even 'God' himself is trying to kill me as well."

"...By 'God' you mean—"

"The gamemakers, Grif. The gamemakers are going to try and kill everyone else, too." An awkward silence follows my comment.

"Man. You Carlysles have terrible luck. Both your parents AND you? It's sick." I nod. "Y'know, I used to know your parents."

"You did? You never told me this."

"Well, I am now. Your mother, Rose, was the most beautiful girl in the school. Absolutely gorgeous. Every guy wanted her, including me. Your father; he was the second-best looking guy."

"Who was—"

"Me." I stifle a laugh. Grifyn has a goofy grin stretched across his face. "But, your parents were that- that perfect couple that you only hear about in stories. They were picture-perfect. Even better than that couple that survived the 74th Games together. You know that story, right? Anyway, your parents were funny, outgoing, friends with everyone in the school, and really nice. It wasn't a shock that they ended up dating."

I smile a bit. Hearing about my parents is really enlightening. It helps me take my mind off of the games. "Yeah?" I'm really interested. I want to know more.

"Yeah. And when Rose was pregnant with you at the age of 16, that was a shock, too. Both Rose and Jay were embarrassed. But, as you grew inside Rose, the more mature the couple got. They seemed like adults almost. Jay even proposed to her, a couple of months before you were born."

"What? He proposed to her?" I smile.

"Yeah." Grifyn seems sad from these memories. They must've been great friends. I decide to hug Grifyn, to show him that I miss them, too. He accepts the hug and we remain for a minute or so.

"Grifyn, I can't do this," I say. He pulls away from the hug.

"Yes you can! I've seen you fight off animals, like bears and wolves! Even just last night you saved us all from Tracker Jackers!" He throws his arms up to show that his point is a legitimate one.

"Yeah, but kids are smarter than animals. Kids are humans," I argue. "They have families to get to. Lives to finish."

"So do you." Grifyn rests his arms and looks me in the eyes. "So do you," he repeats.

"Time's up!" A peacekeeper throws the door open and drags Grifyn out.

"Come home!" Grifyn yells as he is pulled out of the room. The door is closed behind them. I lie back down in wait of my next visitor. Time goes by; 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, before someone steps in. The door slowly creaks open and I smile as I see her face. Sara.

She walks in with tears dripping down her face, her eyes and nose are red, and she can't stop stuttering. "T- T- Torin..." She cries. I open my arms and she falls into them and I wrap around her. We remain that way for some minutes before I speak.

"Sara, I'll be alright. Grifyn had an excellent point. I'm a scavenger. It's kind of like being a career. Except, I'm not!" I smile and make Sara giggle just a little bit.

"Well, my 'Career-boyfriend', I look forward to your return," she says, in a lighter mood. She's being a bit romantic now, too. I lean in and we lock tongues, with a long and deep kiss. I smile as we remain for a few minutes longer. She pulls away and smiles, but tears are forming in her eyes quickly. "I almost forgot about this," Sara pulls down the top of her dress slightly and pulls out a necklace from her bra. She untangles it with the flick of her wrist and shows it off. It's a leather-strap necklace with a silver pendant on the end. The pendant has an oak tree engraved on it. But, in the tree leaves are flowers. Not just any flowers; Roses.

My eyes widen as I realize whose this was. "What?!" I shout sort of loudly. Sara drops the pendant necklace in the palms of my hands and rests her other hand on my shoulder.

"Your grandfather gave this to me before he passed away. He wanted me to give this to you if you were ever sent to the games or once you were nineteen," Sara explains. I hug her and smile. Something to remember my mother by. And I now have a token.

Sara sees the joy on my face, which must have brought up a good memory. I can see the realization on her face as she remembers that I might not come back. She's horrified and falls back into my arms, bawling. I caress her, and quietly try to calm her down. I kiss her head, rub her back, and rock her gently in my arms, almost as if I was trying to soothe a crying baby. She calms down to a slow cry and looks up at me. The look on her face is heartbreaking; tears still on her face, her eyes are red, and the small bit of mascara (at least what we could afford) is dripping down her face.

"Time to go!" a Peackeeper shouts as he opens the door. Sara refrains from causing a scene gives me one last long kiss before we part ways. I might not see my girlfriend ever again.

Two peacekeepers enter and push me through the door in the back, which leads outside. A car is waiting for me. I'm pushed into the back seat, along with my fellow District 7 tribute, Amber.

The car ride to the station is demeaning. Between Amber and I, there's awkward silence throughout the ride. Widget talks in the front with the driver and occasionally calls back to us to give us tips about what to do once we're in the Capitol.

We arrive at the train station and are escorted into the cabin. My hands are trembling so badly that when I try to pull myself onto the steps, I miss the guardrail at first. I trip over my feet, tumbling into the wall of the cabin. Widget laughs as he helps me up. I can't help but laugh at myself. As soon as I'm on the train, I sit in a seat and wait for further instructions.

"Alright, so! This is the main cabin! Towards the front, is the dining car, sleeping car A, sleeping car B, then conductor's cabin, respectively," Widget says, "And behind us are the crew transportation cars!" He says, a bit unnervingly. "That concludes our tour! Do what you want; we will be departing in an hour. Dinner is in two."

For the next hour, I lay in my cabin, relaxing. It's very rejuvenating, but I feel bad about lounging around. Not to mention, I should be worried about the games. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not. But, now that I think about it, I am starting to worry. What if there isn't a bow? Although, I was taught by Sara how to throw knives, but what if they don't have knives? They could have only maces like that one year! The thought makes my stomach churn. A sudden vision of being bludgeoned to death by a tribute with a mace. Or, even a flail... Oh no...

The train takes a sudden jolt forward and I'm snapped back into reality. I quickly look over at the clock on my wall. It's been exactly one hour since we've gotten onto the train. I look outside the small window I have in my cabin. Wow. We are moving fast. Very fast. But, it doesn't even feel like we're moving at all.

I shrug to myself and lie back down. My stomach hurts because I'm so hungry right now. I hope dinner is soon. I could eat a whole— well, actually, I could probably eat this train, I'm so hungry. I chuckle to myself at this thought of me with a gigantic mouth and I'm chomping down on the train. I guess this is how I calm myself down. Humor. I drift off to sleep only to be awaken an hour later for dinner.

A bell is ringing as I can hear Widget's Capitol voice screeching through the train. I groan and get out of bed, dragging my feet towards the dining car. When I arrive, it seems that the food hasn't been set out, yet. I shrug and sit down.

"Saw you sleeping," Amber says, giggling, "It was adorable!" I blush and look away, avoiding awkward eye contact. Widget giggles in that "masculine" Capitol giggle that the men do. I roll my eyes and lean back in my chair.

"What's for dinner?" I ask, smiling as my stomach gurgles knowing that food is on the way. As if on cue, people in weird white outfits and aprons bring out dining platters covered by metal lids. Everything is set down and when they lift all the lids at once, steam fills the room, distorting the view of the food. The smells emanate from the food— mixes of spices, seasonings, and other scents fill the room. All of us are practically drooling as each of the silver dishes are exposed. My mouth is watering just from the smell, but as soon as they show off the food, I know I'm in heaven.

"We have some dilectable pizza, which is pretty much dough with tomato sauce and cheese on it. We have a kebab with onion, pepper, beef, bacon, and tomato. We have a pig roast that's coming out, soon, and for desert, a small 'tribute cake', as we like to call it, will be delivered to each of you, thanking you for your sacrifice," The cook says. We all nod and thank him. He retreats to go fetch the pig and we all begin to eat.

Dinner was amazing. Especially that pizza thing. The tribute cakes were pretty good, as well. They had our faces put on them, which was weird, but, hey. At least it's food. I've never eaten so well in my life!

Us three remain at the table, in happy and content silence for just a few moments. Suddenly, Widget stand up and starts talking. "Well, you two, Ms. Skalai and Mr. Carlysle, tomorrow we will be in the Capitol. And I believe that the tribute parade will be later that night. Being from District 7, the farthest from the Capitol, we won't arrive until well after noon. Now, your mentor—" Widget is cut off by the slamming of a door and the entrance of a woman.

"...is here," this woman says in a feminine but tough voice. At first, I don't recognize her. The skinny but athletic build, the dark brown hair, the fair skin, and most notable, the wine glass in her hand. Johanna Mason. District 7 mentor.

Amber and I both look at each other and grin. Johanna is a legend. She won her games by acting innocent at first, but turned out to be devastatingly dangerous. She's middle-aged, but she looks like she's eighteen. It's a miracle, considering what she's been through. Definitely the strongest mentor, as well. It's been a surprise we haven't won a game in the past thirty years. No one expects us to come home.

"Sorry I'm late for dinner. I've been in my room catching up on the reapings. So, these are our tributes for this year?" Widget nods in reply. "Amber Skalai and... Torin Carlysle, correct? Your reaping was pretty boring compared to all the others. There was a fight in 2!" She laughs and sips from her glass. "Well, if you guys are done eating, you should get some sleep. You have the games in a week. You need as much sleep as possible."

"Alright," Amber and I say, simultaneously. We say our good nights and walk to our cabins, leaving Widget and Johanna to discuss plans.

As she passes through my room to go to hers, Amber stops and talks to me. "Hey," she says, sitting on my bed.

"Hey," I reply, sitting next to her.

"You know how back in school we used to have a day of remembrance to talk about the tributes after they were reaped, just in case they don't come back?" she asks me.

I nod in reply. "Yeah, but I never understood why we did it after the reapings. Why not after the games?"

"I'm not sure, but what do you think they're going talk about?"

"Us," I reply blatantly.

"I know that, but what about us?"

"Well, I know for sure they'll have Sara speak about me."

Amber stays silent for a few seconds. "Yeah...I just hope they'll remember us for a while." I can tell she's afraid to be forgotten. I put a hand on her shoulder and she rests her hand on top of mine. She smiles.

"Amber, they won't forget. We need to give them a reason to not forget." she nods. The conversation is obviously going in the wrong direction, because she's silent.

"Torin, if you make it, don't let them forget," She says, standing up. I can tell she has ready overcome her fear of death. She wishes me good night and heads to her room.

I lie down and cover myself up, and try to sleep. The haunting words "don't let them forget" echoes throughout my head the entire night.


	5. The Chariots

I awake in my cabin, hanging halfway off of my bed, with my head towards the ground. I must have been like this for a little while, because the blood has rushed to my head. As I pull my head up, everything gets dizzying and I lay back down. I wait for the weird and heavy feeling to go away before I sit up. I notice that I'm still in my suit and tie. I didn't even bother changing before. Looking over towards the dining car, I notice that the door is open a slightly, but I don't remember opening it. Amber must have gone through it and tried not to wake me.

I look up at the clock which hangs on the wall. It's 8:56am. Deciding I should probably get up, I head out to the dining car, dragging my feet, and meet everyone. They are all eating but they look up as I enter. "Good morning, sleeping beauty!" Johanna says as she winks teasingly.

"Good morning..." I say, half-awake. "What's the eats?" Sliding a chair out, I plop down in it with a thud.

"French toast!" Widget claps his hands together once as he exclaims the breakfast.

"French toast?" I raise a eyebrow. "What's a French?" I look towards everyone, but they simply shrug. Fantastic. No one knows.

"I don't know what French is, but this French toast is delicious!" Amber laughs as she munches on this French toast stuff.

"French toast is a piece of bread dipped in egg and cooked to perfection!" Widget chimes in. It sounds fantastic. There's a stack of them lying on a plate. I take a piece and Widget dumps some molasses on it. My first bite in this sweet, tasteful piece of toast is fantastic.

By the time I'm done, I've finished 6 pieces while also drinking some milk and eating an egg on top of it. They're really trying to thicken me up for the Games. Since this was more of a brunch, though, Widget states that we won't be eating anything else until we arrive at the Capitol in a few hours. "Now I want you two to stay here. We'll tell you all about how to act in front of the audience and the Capitol citizens!" Widget says.

Amber and I look at each other and then back at the two instructors. In that instant that Amber and I exchanges glances, the Avoxes must have cleared the table pretty quickly. I'm actually amazed at how quickly they got it done.

"So," Widget rests his hands on the table, "as soon as we arrive in the Capitol, you'll instantly hear cheering! The citizens will be so excited to have the new tributes! Especially for you, Torin, and that mysterious scar over your eye!" Widget exclaims.

"Yeah, what is that from?" Johanna leans forward in her seat. She brushes her brunette tresses behind her ear. As Johanna asks this, I see everyone else lean forward, too. Even the boy avox that's guarding the door seems locked in on what I'm about to say.

I blush at the sudden attention and begin, tucking my hands into my pant pockets. "I got this last year from a wolf attack while I was scavenging. I'm blind in that eye. My left, I mean." I say, nervously. Everyone is hanging on my every word.

"Scavenging?" Widget asks. For being the District 7 escort, he sure doesn't know much about us.

"Scavenging is the secondary job in District 7. Also more dangerous. Scavengers have to defend the lumbermen from any danger that comes their way as they are chopping down trees. In other words, the defenders of our District, pretty much," Amber explains. She's not a Scavenger, but she sure knows a lot about us.

"Right," Johanna nods. "So you're blind in that eye? And from your shoulder development, I can tell you're the archer in the scavenging group. How do you shoot with a lack of depth perception?"

"I've had a year to get used to it. It's pretty easy after day-in and day-out practice of shooting. I just... I guess I assume how far the target is and adjust as I go," I explain.

"Neat. Anyway!" Widget is ready to continue. "I want you to embrace the attention and love you're getting from the citizens. And for goodness sake, give some love back!"

This is Amber's cue for some dirty joke. She puckers her lips. "Oh, I'll give all the attractive boys some love back. Even if they don't want it!" she laughs.

"In other words, rape." I smirk. Amber shakes her head, smiling in reply. Johanna and Widget laugh and we continue to discuss our plans for a few hours longer.

All this talk... It seems like they're treating us as celebrities. Except, we're going to die. Won't they miss us, then? But, then Widget mentions something about the citizens of the Capitol placing bets on us. What do they think we are? Animals? I begin to get confused. The room begins to spin, but I regain my thoughts. Suddenly, the train comes to a sudden stop. "We're here!" Widget claps, excitedly. "Go on!" He pushes Amber and I towards the windows and we see blinding light as our eyes try and adjust first.

We hear roars of cheers and clapping. I can see again, but it's harder for me with only one eye. Capitol citizens all look like these weird, discolored freaks of nature who are pale with makeup caked onto their faces. They are waving flags of the Capitol, streamers are being tossed, and confetti is being thrown into the air, the cheers are filled with ear-piercing screams and squeals of joy, excitement, and pleasure. It sickens me, but I have to do what Widget and Johanna told me. I begin to wave out the window along with Amber, and the cheers grow louder. I stretch a big and convincing smile across my face, and try to use my blind eye to wink at some of the Capitol women.

Out of the crowd, I spot a single girl who seems completely natural and has no alterations to her body. She looks about 18, is standing behind everyone in the back of the group, and is by far the most attractive woman here. But, she looks away and I see golden-blonde streaks in her jet-black hair. It looks great on her. She turns back and has something in her hand. I can't tell what it is, but it looks like a coin of some sort. She holds it up high above everyone. I look over at Amber who is staring at this girl with her eyes squinted. I look back and cover my blind eye with my hand and look.

The coin the blonde-streak girl is holding gleams from the sunlight and she tilts it slightly. I can make out what looks like an Oak tree behind... Behind the number 7. I slowly lower my hand from my face and my eyes widen. I look over at Amber. She's looking right back at me. We both realize who that is: Annalee Thorne, the daughter of the mayor.

"Torin, you saw what I saw, right?" Amber asks me. I nod slowly in reply.

Annalee disappeared reaping day, two years ago. She was the most attractive girl in the district and most guys tried to hit on her and such. See, her and I had a growing relationship after we met at school one day. The day of her disappearance, I woke up beside her and she was smiling, looking at me. I had slept with her the night before. We both were feeling daring and like we could take on the world that day.

Annalee and I arrived at the reapings later that day, said our good-byes, and parted ways. Widget drew the boy's name first, then the girl's. When Widget called the girl's name, it was Karra Yesminite— Annalee's best friend. A shriek could be heard in the 16-year-olds' section. It was Annalee's. She chased after Karra as she was being escorted to the stage. I stepped out of the 15-year-old crowd and began walking towards Annalee, but some old man grabbed my arm. He said "She'll be fine." I just watched the peacekeepers take Annalee away after she had just slapped a peacekeeper. She was never seen again, that is, until now.

"Amber... That's—"

"I know," I was cut off by Amber. "What's she doing here? Still alive? Oh, god, I hope they didn't cut out her tongue... I hope she isn't an Avox!"

"Relax. Something tells me we'll find out what happened soon enough. For now, don't worry about it," I reply. Suddenly, peacekeepers board the train an stand between Amber and I. They begin to escort us off the train and into the stadium, which lies before us.

Amber and I are pushed into separate rooms. A team of stylists is waiting for me, when I'm pushed into the room by a peacekeeper. The three stylists that stand before me are all dressed in different colors. But it's like some sort of theme... Green, White, and Orange. Then I notice the one in green has flowers strewn throughout her dress and hair. I look over at the one in white, and she has snowflakes in her hair. Finally, the one in orange has leaves covering a majority of his suit and vest. Then it hits me. They're dressed like seasons. Spring, winter, and autumn. Well, at least they don't look bad in their attire. But their skins are definitely creepy dyed in pink, white, and red. It gives me the chills.

The autumn one steps forwards and he holds out his hand. "You must be mister Torin Carlysle?" I nod and shake his hand. "Ohh, lovely! How I do adore your last name! Car-lie-ul! Carlysle! Oh, how it does roll off the tongue! Can I have your last name, please?" He asks me, jokingly. I chuckle in reply.

"My name is Acapel!" He states. "The one in green is Harmony, and the one in white is Saprana!" He exclaims with glee and the two girls curtsy at me.

"Tanor will be in in but a moment," Harmony says with a surprisingly sweet and calming voice.

"Until then, we have to get you prepped!" Saprana chimes in with her high-pitched, but harmonious voice. It's almost as if each one of these stylists' voices was made for their names... Or vice versa!

First, Harmony grabs me and starts to pull off my clothes, one by one. I make sure to hold onto my mother's pendant. Once I'm completely naked, the three examine me. It's really embarrassing, standing naked in front of complete strangers. They all nod, grunt, shake their heads, and pretty much judge every square in on my body. Yes, even my groin area. They whisper things between each other and I'm standing here, wondering what they are saying.

"Okay! Now we need to wash you!" Saprana says to me. Her and Harmony escort me to a chair and lay me down on my back. They begin to hose me down, scrub me, and remove any imperfection from my body. They try to touch up my left eye, but I push them away from it.

"There! All done!" Saprana claps her hands together. The three turn me towards the mirror and I look at myself. I'm clean and there's no scars (other than my eye) visible. "Now we hafta wait for Tanor!"

As if on cue, Tanor walks in. He's a skinny man, who is covered in blue clothes with yellow-tinted skin and hair. I think he's supposed to resemble sand and water. Like the summer. "So, this must be Torin, emirite?" I smile and nod. He walks in circles around me, examining my body and physique. He apparently likes what he sees, because he claps his hands and says, "Magnifique!"

"So, when am I getting my costume?" I ask, ready to look ridiculous.

"Right now!" He says. Tanor turns around and grabs a bag— a small one— and opens it. I assume it's the costume, but I'm worried as to what it might be. He turns back towards me and pulls out a leaf. A single leaf. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I know exactly what he's thinking.

"I'm NOT wearing that," I say, being as short with him as I can.

As if all at once, all four of them start talking at once. Saying things like, "But, you must!", "It's only for a short while!", and "Imagine all the ladies swooning over you!"

Then, Tanor says something that sounds like a threat. "If you wish to live, you'll put this on." He immediately realizes how he worded this and he stops. "I— I mean if you wish to have sponsors and a better chance to survive, you'll do this! That, or go out naked!"

I roll my eyes and my anger grows. But, he's right. It might not get any sponsors if I don't. I might if I do. He hands me the leaf and I tie it around my groin, blushing and feeling really embarrassed. "There's one more piece to be added!" Tanor says. He grabs what looks like a wreath made of leaves and sets it on my head. "There! All done!" Everyone starts clapping, while I stand in silence, embarrassed, and greatly regretting this.

"Time to be off!" Acapel adds and they all escort me to the chariot.

When I arrive, I notice most of the tributes are here. A few are still missing, but I have nothing to do but wait for Amber. I look around to get an idea of what the other costumes look like.

District 1 has some sort of fabric surrounding them like a robe, completely covering their chests down. The tributes of 2 are wearing spiked helmets and some armor which makes them look fantasticly demonic. 3 has robes made of all sorts of colors of wire wrapping around them. 4 is dressed like some sort of ancient god of some sort, holding tridents and helmets that have wings on the sides. They have blue and white robes on their bodies.

For some reason, robes seem to be in style this year. Out of all the districts, the Careers catch my eye. Mainly because they are Careers, but they always had good costumes. These ones are no different. The next one to catch my eye is 8. The tributes of 8 are wrapped in silk robes with a few pins sticking out. There's a pin that connects the two tributes together by just a string. I wonder why they are connected like that. But, then I see the male kiss the girl on the lips. They must be a couple. They do look about the same age. I'd guess 16.

The next eye-popping couple of tributes are the ones from the fabled District 13. Ever since they were put into the Hunger Games after the rebellion, they've always been the best. They're trained from birth, but only because they tried to overthrow the Capitol 24 years ago, and they'll try again. These tributes, though, are glowing. They've been painted with some green-colored glowing paint, to denote radiation. They're also covered in pieces of stone... Or granite, I suppose.

Amber comes out of the District 7 area. She's naked, with the leaves covering her breasts and groin area. Her long brown hair is down and nothing has been done with it. Some is resting overtop her shoulders. She walks up to me and both of our faces turn red. Who would've thought we would have seen each other naked?

"H— H— Hey, Torin..." She says, really struggling to talk.

"Hey," I say trying to not look at her body; I wish to not disrespect her.

"A— Are you ready for th—this?" I nod. She looks around at all the other tributes. Some are pointing and staring at us, but it's not like something like this has ever been seen before. Tributes have worn revealing outfits before. "Wow... Look at all of these amazing outfits." She's obviously intimidated by the other tributes.

"At least ours are more... Natural," I reply, crossing my arms on my chest.

A voice announces that the chariots should be loaded. Amber an I step onto ours and sigh collectively, not ready for the revealing of ourselves. District 1 goes and just as soon as they clear the overhang on the complex, the crowd goes wild. The trumpets start blaring the anthem and I start giving in to my nerves. I'm shaking uncontrollably

More and more chariots pile out, bringing wave after wave of laughter, excitement, and cheering. After six chariots, it's our turn. The horses leading the chariot begin to trot forwards. I'm shaking so bad that it's hard to concentrate. We clear the overhang and the crowd goes silent. Surely, this is what pure public embarrassment feels like. Everyone's attention is on us. Everyone is staring at us. At our naked bodies. With nothing but leaves covering our privates... Then, suddenly, Amber grabs my hand and raises it up. The crowd starts cheering, but louder. So much louder. I smile and wave to show that I'm not bothered. That I'm proud and okay with what I look like. The crowd is "wolf-whistling" at us— I guess saying that we're attractive— and throwing confetti.

We arrive in front of the massive podium and Amber and I relax. The cheering has died down since we've stopped, but they're still cheering for the tributes behind us.

Each chariot brings out tributes and the crowd continues to cheer. Each one surprises the crowd of Capitol citizens with a new costume. Then, District 13 comes out. The crowd loses it. These glowing and rock-covered tributes beat all of the costumes here, according to the spectators. These tributes have smug grins on their faces, showing that they know they are the best. They are the only outlying District to have been accepted into the Career pack, making the pack go from 8 to 10. They arrive at the podium and high-five the other careers and cheer. They "won" the chariot show.

After the cheering has slowed, this old man hobbles up to the podium. He waves a hand and the crowd silences. This man seems weak and feeble. But he straightens his back and pulls the microphone closer. I spot the rose on his coat and realize how white his mane is. Then, he speaks in the darkest and coldest voice anyone will ever have heard. "Welcome to the 99th annual Hunger Games."


	6. The First Day of Training

**Day 1 of training**

* * *

"Hey! Torin! Wake up! Come on, Torin! Wake up, lazy bones!" Amber's voice echoes through my head and all I can see is stars. Then, a quick shake wakes me and I'm up.

"Huh? What?" My vision's blurry and all I see is Amber's figure. She's kneeling beside me on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

"Where am I? What happened?" I ask as my vision starts to return. Well, in one eye, at least. I sit up and the world spins.

"You fell off of the climbing net, remember? After that District 2 dick-head shot an arrow on your right side. He missed on purpose, but it seemed to scare you, since you fell off."

I scratch my head. That's right. I'm in training. Wearing this ridiculous training attire. These clothes are tight as hell. That's probably why I fell as well. Too tight of clothes is a legitimate reason, right?

"Let me help you up," Amber says and she grabs my hand and helps pull me up. I regain my balance and I brush myself off. I look up and notice most tributes are around me, along with the medical crew.

"Hello, all?" I say semi-sarcastically. They all shake their heads and walk away back to what they were doing.

"I'm glad you're okay, but that doesn't excuse you for attracting attention to us! We're supposed to be winning, not showing that we're easy pickings!" Amber folds her arms and has a smirk stretched across her face.

"He fucking shot an arrow in my direction! I had the right to fall! I did it in self-defense!"

"You fall in self defense?" Amber raises an eyebrow at me then giggles. "Anyway, you've done archery and climbing— albeit clumsily, but nonetheless climbing— and now what are you planning on doing?"

"Knives. Sara taught me how to throw and use them, so I'll practice that for a tad bit." I look around for the knife throwing station. I spot it, but that girl from District 2, Leah I think her name is, is using it. "Never mind."

"Well, how about you teach me to shoot?"

"Um... I don't think that's a fantastic idea. I'm half-blind. My ways of shooting are different from those with two functional eyes, y'know."

"I'll just close an eye!" she sticks her tongue out at me.

"Alright, come on, smart-ass," I say, putting an arm on her shoulder and we walk towards the archery station. "Take the bow. What do you know?"

"Uhm. How to hold it?" She grabs the handle on the bow with her left and puts her whole fist on the string.

"Wait. First, I assume you're right handed?" She nods. "Okay, well, when you have the arrow nocked, use your index, middle, and ring fingers on your right hand to draw the string." I walk up to her and take her hand in mine. "You can position your 'draw fingers' as I call them, above, below, or my favorite, split. Split's the easiest because it gives the arrow some support all around. Below is good, but only once the arrow's been drawn.

"Now for the other hand, you have to use your index finger to envelope the tip of the arrow so it doesn't move when you draw," I say, maneuvering my hands and hers in positions that she can use.

"Split's the easiest," Amber says and she practices drawing the string back.

"Now, let's add an arrow onto that." I remove an arrow from the nearest rack and hand it to her. I stand back and watch her manipulate the arrow so it's in the position she wants. Amber releases the arrow and it soars into the left shoulder of the target. "That was good!"

"Not good enough. You show me!"

I smile and accept the bow she just handed me. Grabbing an arrow off of a rack, I nock the arrow then draw it back. I position my feet in the perfect place needed for good balance. I lift the bow up to my face and take a deep breath. Releasing the string, the arrow goes flying into the left eye of the dummy.

"WOW!" Amber claps her hands together and smiles. "That was awesome! No wonder you're the archer in your scavenging group! But I have a question.. Why the left eye? Does it have something to do with yours?"

I simply smile at her then hand her the bow back. "Most people interpret it that way. But the eyes are the gateways to the brain— for a quick and painless death. That and the left side contains the most vital organs."

She ponders this for a moment. "Well, I still think it's your eye."

I shrug. "Believe what you want. Anyway, the knife station is open. I'm going to go there. You keep shooting." Amber nods then goes back to attempting to fire the arrow. I chuckle as I walk towards the knife station.

As I walk, I look around at the other tributes. People are hacking, slashing, and stabbing at the dummies. It's quite horrifying, really. Especially the brute of a kid in district 1. The male tribute of District 1 is a 15-year-old boy who's about 6 feet tall. He's got the biceps of a steroid-injected athlete. It's scary to see such a creature. Born and raise to kill. I watched him volunteer through the reruns of the reapings. Another boy was up on the stage; he was 18. This brute walked up there, simply picked up the other kid, and set him down off the stage. A 15-year-old picking up and moving an 18-year old. It just amazes me and scares me at the same time.

I approach the knife station and pick up one of the daggers. It's about a foot long, handle and all. The blade is made of steel and the handle of bronze. There's an intricate pattern on the blade as well. It seems sturdy enough to tear open someone's skin— wait. Why am I thinking about this? A day into training and I've already become a monster.

I shake the thought out of my head an I run my fingers across the blade. Sharp. Using this knife, I can put what Sara taught me to good use. Or, at least, practice it. Since she is the knife expert and I'm her boyfriend, I've picked up and been taught most of everything there is to know about knives.

I push a button on a platform and three glowing targets rise from the ground. I rush up to the center one and using my foot, I push off from its stomach and push myself back a little. I land and instantly slash its face, leaving a red glowing scar all the way across it. The target retracts and I turn towards the one on my left. I lunge towards it, but it moves to the right and I miss. Now, I'm behind it. I quickly use my knife to grab ahold of it and get behind before it turned around. It tries to turn, but I have it in my hands already. I use my knife to stab the knife in the left shoulder blade and drag it across to the right shoulder blade, moving with the knife. I remove the knife then stab it into the front of the neck and bring down the second target.

The third target moves forward on its track, towards me. I dive out of the way and tumble upon contact with the ground. I roll to a stand and grip the knife before throwing it into the stomach of the target, leaving it to fall to the ground.

I rest a moment as that action exerted a lot of energy. Suddenly, I hear some slow, menacing clapping behind me. But only by one person. I expect it to be Amber, but as I turn, more and more of the person is revealed in my peripheral vision. It's a Career. But not just any Career, a District 13 Career.

"Good on ya, mate!" He says, sarcastically. This horrifyingly monotonous demon of a person standing before me is pale while. His hair is buzzed but what's visible is jet black. "You seem to have the style and motions mixed. Intriguing, to say the least." He starts to walk circles around me examining me like a shark before it strikes.

"Yeah? What makes you feel that way? Clearly, I could manage that. I mean, it's not like I fell or something, " I speak through gritted teeth, turning my head as he walks around me.

"No, but you do look ridiculous. Not to mention that in the arena, targets won't stay still and they will fight back." His words seem to make me unsure of myself. But I know he's just trying to manipulate me. I start to clench my fists, but then again, I don't want to attract any attention. I breathe slowly to calm myself down.

"I haven't seen you try, yet. I'm sure you're pretty bad," I sneer. He simply laughs this off.

"Well I guess you won't find out until the arena, pretty boy." Pretty boy? Why is he calling me pretty boy? "I'm pretty sure that scar of yours is going to be a hindrance." He steps to my left side. "Can't see me now, can you?" He's right. I can't. Not a bit.

"But I still know that you're there. Try brushing your teeth once-in-a-while. Might help." Again, I smile menacingly. This comment clearly pissed him off.

"You're going to fucking die. Or maybe, maybe I should just torture you? I will keep you alive until the end where I can torture you for all of Panem to see. They'd love it. I know I would." he steps away and turns back towards his allies whom are all watching. They were expecting a fight and they didn't get it.

Amber approaches me slowly, watching for any other Careers to avoid. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." I continue to look at the ground, knowing that I have just made an enemy. One who will be watching and following my every move, only to keep me alive so he can make the last few hours of my life a living hell.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but this will make up for the long time in between 3 and 4. I plan on doing 3 chapters for the 3 days of training. All of which will be pretty short. I would like to get into the games before my summer starts. With graduation and everything else going on, the next three weeks will be hectic for me. I could dole out chapters quickly, or there'd be some time in between. We'll see. As usual, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, and I look forward to writing the next chapter!**

**P.s. I am looking for some tributes to be sent in for cameos and fillers. Send one in and they'll be featured! (please note they will die, and the POV will continue through Torin's eyes. [Or, eye, if you will ;P ] )**


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